


Hearts Unbound

by sittingoverheredreaming



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-10-21 02:06:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17633975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sittingoverheredreaming/pseuds/sittingoverheredreaming
Summary: What if instead of dying when their Talismans are shot out, Haruka and Michiru were taken over by the vengeful spirits of Uranus and Neptune? Can Usagi and the others find a way to save them before they awaken the Messiah of Silence?





	1. What Lives Inside Us

**Author's Note:**

> Credit for the idea goes to tumblr user Rhiorhino!

There were things Haruka expected in death, and others she hoped for. She consented to the logic of nothingness,  that when she passed she would cease to be in every possible way. In her mind, she believed it, but her heart believed something else-- the idea of heaven, a restful place where nothing bad could touch you. 

But as the shot echoed around the cathedral, she did not feel either of those things draw near. The world faded out, but it wasn’t like falling asleep or like ascending to the light. Haruka felt as though someone was wrapping a thin cloth over her eyes again and again, over her whole self until she could not see or feel or move. The tighter it got, the more fear crept up from her toes. Her hearing remained. Usagi cried and cried and the sound did not diminish. Would Haruka be listening forever? Was this all there was? The simple doom of being a ghost with only ears, bound to hear the world pass by? Was Michiru next to her, suffering the same fate and unable to say? Would they be inches apart, doomed to never touch for all eternity? Haruka had been so stupid, she should have taken her hand, she should have--

“ _ Finally _ .”

Everything Haruka had left went cold. That voice sounded like… but it was wrong somehow, very wrong. The sounds of Usagi’s sobs stopped.

“Uranus, are you awake?” the voice that could not be Michiru’s asked.

“I am.”

Her voice, that was her voice. Haruka wished she could open her eyes. She wanted to struggle free of whatever bound her, she wanted to know what--

_ Quiet, parasite! _

_____

Usagi should have been overjoyed. She wanted to be, but the queasiness of fear would not leave her as Michiru and Haruka rose. They were alive, and that was good. Michiru helped Haruka up. Neither appeared hurt. That was good. Usagi willed herself to feel it was good.

“Usagi,” Mina said from somewhere behind her. “Come this way.”

She couldn’t move. Moving would show them she wasn’t happy, and that would hurt their feelings, wouldn’t it?

And besides that, if she moved they would catch her. She did not want to think it, but she did. Usagi stayed on the ground, still and small. 

“Usagi.” Mina was firmer now. She could see whatever had happened, too. Maybe if none of them moved, it would be alright. 

“Are you not going to say hello, Venus?” The Michiru that was too wrong to be Michiru retrieved the mirror talisman from the floor. “It’s been such a long time.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t rid yourself of your stowaway.” Haruka stepped forward, sword in hand, and for all her bluster she had never sounded so cruel. 

Mina stepped up to Usagi’s side, the other senshi at her back. “We have an understanding.”

“How quaint.” Michiru-- no, Usagi realized with a swallow of fear, only Neptune— stepped closer. “I’m afraid we do not find ourselves so forgiving.”

Uranus pointed her sword straight at Usagi’s nose. “Her mother banished us to the far reaches of the kingdom, and when that kingdom fell she trapped us in this pathetic existence.”

“You’ll put that away if you know what’s good for you.” Mina put a protective hand on Usagi’s shoulder.

“That queen is long dead, her authority no longer makes you my general.”

A stream of flame shot at Haruka so quick, she barely had time to duck out of the way. “That wasn’t an order,” Rei said, chin held high and stiff, “but a threat.”

Neptune’s eyes flashed. “You know we have little need to kill her now, Mars. I know what you’ve seen. We will awaken that messiah and be free of this world.”

Makoto grabbed her wrist that held the mirror. “If you so much as come near Usagi--”

Neptune yanked back her arm. “Then I suggest you stay out of our way.”

Uranus joined her as they took their leave, shoving past the senshi.

“Haruka… Michiru…”

“They’re gone, Usagi.” Ami knelt beside her. “They knew all along they would have to sacrifice someone to find the talismans.”

“This isn’t right.” Usagi’s hands shook. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be!”

“It isn’t.”

They all turned to see a tall, dark woman-- the woman who had told Usagi to come to the cathedral. She hung her head and with a breath, transformed.

“Pluto!”

“I thought this part of them would be sealed within the talismans, and that removing them would ensure their eternal sleep.” She shifted her grip on her staff, avoiding their eyes. “Had I known that the talismans bound them...”

“But why? Why are they being like this?”

“The four mutinous planets,” Mina whispered. 

Pluto nodded. “You remember.”

“When Queen Serenity built her kingdom in this system, four planets welcomed her. They signed her peace treaties and each sent a daughter to live in her palace on the moon. Four planets rejected her--”

“And chose to self-destruct rather than bow to her. But her magic was strong, and she saved one girl on each planet. The first swore fealty in exchange for her life, and so when she took up her father’s station at the Door of Time, the Queen made a portal so that she might ease her loneliness. The second was but a babe, with great power asleep within her, so the queen put her asleep as well to grow with her power until she was needed.”

“The final two stayed loyal to their dead planets, and so the Queen left them alone there, to face oncoming threats alone.” Mina’s voice changed, as it sometimes did, to something deeper and older, something awoken from a time long past, and today it set a yet bigger lump of fear into Usagi’s stomach. She wanted to cry out for Mina to come back, but did not want to act so childishly in front of Pluto.

“I am surprised she allowed this to be spoken of in the Palace.”

“Not her palace, but mine.” Venus smiled, sharp and dangerous. “We were loyal, but not blinded.” She shook her head, and Mina returned. “What can we do then, if they’re bent on revenge?”

“They cannot awaken the Messiah of Silence without the third talisman.” Pluto cupped the orb on her staff. “If it can be avoided, I will not give them what they need.”

“What do you mean,  _ if _ ?” Rei asked, hands on her hips.

“If threats become too great for this planet to face, destruction is inevitable. It is better to raize the world and begin anew than to let evil flourish.”

“Is that how your leaders justified killing their planet?” Mina looked murderous.

“It is how our Queen justified destroying the moon and earth, when she lost that war.”

“Well, luckily we don’t have to worry about any of that.” Mako smiled. “You’re forgetting we’re here, and there’s no threat we can’t handle.” She punched into her own hand.

“I hope that is true. I only tell you to warn you, guardians. It is likely Uranus and Neptune will do everything in their power to force my hand.”

____

They returned to the apartment their parasites had shared, figuring it was as good a place as any to regroup and plan their next move. Neptune examined the provisions, but when she reached for a bottle of wine her hand jerked itself away.  _ That bottle is worth more than your entire planet at its peak.  _

Neptune fought and grabbed it anyway, along with bread and cheese-- she didn’t recognize most items in the kitchen. 

“They did a lot of work for us,” Uranus said as she sat down. “All this research on the talismans, but they didn’t have a clue what it meant.”

“The daimons can play in our favor.” Neptune poured them each a glass of wine. “If we keep the others too occupied to defeat them as they come, the planet will be overrun.”

“Then we just have to find the messiah.” Uranus took a sip, and grimaced at the taste. She shook it off and drunk deeply.

Neptune watched her carefully. “She’ll be a young girl, I imagine. She was always much younger than us.”

Uranus’s face flashed with struggle, sadness, resolve. Her parasite, too, was acting a nuisance.

_ If you are in  _ our _ bodies, are you not the parasites? _

Neptune would not answer her. She would not give her any encouragement. “We should split up. I will search for the messiah, and you can break up any daimon fights. If you think you can handle it.”

“Of course I can handle it. Can  _ you _ ?”

“Naturally.” Neptune bristled. Perhaps it had been for the best that they had never met in that old life. “I merely mean your parasite seems to give you a certain amount of trouble.”

“You are not nearly as good at hiding your own struggle as you think.”

Neptune rose to strike her, but her body went rigid.  _ You will not lay a hand on her! _

Uranus laughed. “See? You have no control.” She stood and stared her down. “I haven’t half the troubles you have.”

Furry built in Neptune’s chest. She rose her hands, but they landed gently on Uranus’s arms.  _ Haruka… _

Uranus slipped her hands into hers, then pulled away in shock. “We should split up now. You were right.” 

“Of course I was,” Neptune spat, clenching her fists to regain control. They had to destroy the world, and they had to do it soon. These parasites were not as weak as she’d first believed.

____

It was little surprise to Minako when Uranus showed up soon after the next daimon, appearing around the next street corner just as the fight began. Usagi went white, and Mina did not have to follow her gaze to know why.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Mako grunted as she loosed an attack at the monster. “I swear I’ll--”

“Let me take care of her.” If any of Haruka was still somehow in there, a classic Mako pummelling would do nothing to help her. “Make sure you handle this as quickly as possible, in case the other one shows up.”

Mako nodded and moved to shield Usagi. “Be careful, then.” She blasted the daimon further down the road and herded Usagi forward.

Uranus watched Mina approach. She made no move to attack-- it was a trap, certainly, but sometimes the best way to outmaneuver a trap was to walk straight into it, knowingly. Mina stopped just feet away, where one lunge with Uranus’s sword would surely run her through, and waited.

“You split up,” Uranus said at long last.

“So did you."

“I work best alone.”

“Yeah sure.” Minako watched carefully, while doing her best to appear careless. “There’s one thing you didn’t consider, though.”

Uranus’s eyes narrowed. “What’s that?”

“The person you’re fighting in there  cares about more than just Michiru.” She launched herself at her, ramming her shoulder into her chest and knocking them both down. Mina called upon her love-me-chain, and within moments Uranus was bound. “Haruka could build herself up to fighting us, but she won’t do it for you.”

“She’s not here.” With a flash the chains broke, and Uranus came on the offensive, swinging her sword swiftly enough that Mina could barely dogde. “You’ve gone soft, Venus.”

“Like hell I have.” She took a breath and pooled her power into a sword to parry Uranus’s blows. “Not to be cliche, but I have strength you’ll never reach.”

Uranus’s fighting style was not unlike Haruka’s. She was still a whirling storm of blows, but she had none of Haruka’s hesitation, and a touch more precision. Even so, to Mina she was predictable. Mina stuck to defence and waited as she began to wear, picking her moment the second Uranus over extended herself. Mina knocked the sword from her hand.

“Be sure to tell Neptune you failed. By now Makoto has weakened the daimon enough for Usagi to cleanse it.” Mina picked up the sword talisman, but it dissolved in her hand and reappeared at Uranus’s feet. 

“This isn’t over,” Uranus huffed.

“It sure isn’t. Go home and rest, buddy.”

“Mina…”

Minako walked away and did not look back. She’d almost hoped that Haruka had been entirely gone. Killing them would be easier than saving them. 

She found Usagi and Mako a few streets over, victorious but still transformed. Usagi ran to her, hugging her hard enough to knock her out of breath.

“Hey, I’m alright. I’m alright.” She ruffled Usagi’s hair between her odangos. “Uranus is no match for me.” 

“What did she want?” Mako crossed her arms.

“To distract us, I’d guess. But she’s not as in control as she’d like to be.” 

Usagi pulled away. “You mean Haruka’s still here?” 

“Maybe.”

“Then I can heal her!” The Moon Rod appeared in her hand and she started to run until Mina grabbed her shoulder.

“I don’t know if it’ll be that easy. You can try next time, but please don’t seek either of them out.” There was a niggling of fear at the back of Mina’s mind that was not strictly her own.  _ Will she heal me away, too? _ Mina put a hand on her chest, instinctually protecting what lived inside her. 

“They’re not really monsters,” Mako said, and whether she knew Mina’s fear was impossible to say. “Maybe we just  need to put their hearts back.”

“We’ll try everything.” Usagi stood up straight, for a moment looking every bit the woman who would become queen. “We won’t lose them. We won’t lose anyone.”

Mako smiled, but Mina felt less sure. She kept her hand on her heart, just to feel it beat. Just so  _ all _ of her could feel it beat. Loss seemed inevitable, one way or another. The only question was who. 


	2. Partners

_ Show me. _

The fire flickered, light dancing against the walls.

_ Show me the messiah they seek. _

Usagi was there, suddenly, brighter than the flames. Destruction surrounded her, the culmination of all Rei’s visions, but she stood firm. A young girl shivered before her, small and afraid. Usagi offered her hand and a smile. The girl reached out.

And then Uranus and Neptune were there, and Uranus’s sword was buried in Usagi’s chest. The little girl screamed, changed, the world was lost.

Rei jerked away from the fire. Her heartbeat filled her ears. She had not yet seen the source of the destruction. For it to be a little girl…

She could not tell Usagi. She could not let her try to reach the little girl. Any attempt to save her would surely mean her death. Rei took a deep breath through her nose. Her first instinct was to go to Mina, but something in her hesitated. She would never say it aloud, but Venus, at times, was not so different than Uranus and Neptune. None of the others had the same connection to their past self. 

Rei trusted Mina, but she was not sure she trusted Venus. 

So she called Ami. “How hard would it be for you to find someone, based on a vague description and and a defined power?”

“It might take time, but I could build a program with the Mercury computer… What are we doing?”

“Keeping Usagi safe.”

“I’m coming over.”

To Ami’s credit, she did not chide Rei over keeping her visions a secret. She put her chin on her hands as she listened, wincing at the more horrific details, but any reprimands she had were kept to herself.

“Was Pluto in your latest vision?” she asked at the end.

Rei stopped, never having thought of it. “Not that I saw.”

“Hm.” She tapped a finger against her cheek, steady as a metronome. “There’s something I can’t quite piece together. Why were the Death Busters searching for the Talismans?”

“To awaken the Messiah of Silence.”

Ami frowned. “But what good is that to them, if she’d destroy them along with the world?”

“What are you saying?”

“I think the Death Busters and Uranus and Neptune may be trying to awaken different entities.” She opened the Mercury computer, only to stare at it. “What you described… I think we have to find out what that could be.”

Rei sighed and leaned in. “We have two enemies, and we don’t know one of them at all.”

“Instead think that we know one of them very well.” Ami smiled, and it almost reached her eyes. “Uranus and Neptune should move predictably, and that gives us time to figure out the Death Busters.”

“Small comfort.” But it was a comfort. As Ami began typing, the fear in Rei’s gut burned low. 

_____

Mina was surprised when Makoto found her, hours after the encounter with Uranus. Too restless to go home, she’d wound up in a park across town, kicking her feet into the dirt under an empty swing set. 

“You’re afraid,” Makoto said, no pleasantries to soften it.

“I’m never afraid.”

Makoto gave a tiny huff of a laugh and took the swing next to her. “I don’t have what you have, but I feel Jupiter, sometimes. She smiles, sometimes, and I feel that.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. It’s not when you’d expect. She mostly likes when I garden, or sometimes I’ll hear a song she enjoys. Despite all I am she doesn’t like fighting.”

“She never did.”

Makoto smiled a small smile. “She’s not bad, and I don’t think Venus is either.” She leaned back. “But I know it’s hard to tell the others that.”

“You don’t think they might have what you have?”

Makoto shook her head. “I tried asking, especially when I first awakened. They had no idea what I was talking about, I thought I might just be crazy until you came around.”

“And then you knew you at least had someone to be crazy with?” Mina laughed, and it wasn’t quite fake. 

“Something like that.” She stared up at the sky. “It’s had to seem them proving to Usagi those parts of us are evil.”

“Yeah.” Mina leaned back too. “I have this twisted hope that we can just get them to be like me. Just… get Uranus and Neptune to tone it down, and live in the background.”

“That’s not twisted. Any other circumstance, and Usagi would be the one saying that.”

“But she’s not now.”

“No.” Mako looked over. “But we are.” She offered her hand, and Mina took it.

____

“You failed.”

Haruka winced inside Uranus. Hearing Neptune take that tone made her feel ashamed, even if she was hardly more than a bystander.

“And what did you do?” Uranus spat.

_ Hey! Don’t talk to her like-- _

“I investigated. Based on the energy around Mugen Academy, the Messiah likely attends the same school our parasites are enrolled in.”

“And?”

“And perhaps tomorrow I shall attend to see if I might locate her.”

“So you have done nothing as well.” Uranus smirked with Haruka’s mouth. “You cannot berate me until you have nothing to be berated for.”

“I gave you a task and you did not complete it.” Haruka heard Neptune flip her hair, the strands hitting the fabric of her top with a swish. “I have taken steps--”

“No one made you leader.” The sword talisman was in Uranus’s hand, suddenly, cold and heavy against Haruka’s skin.

“You do not want to fight me, Uranus.”

“And why’s that?”

_ Because I won’t let you! _

“We’ll never achieve anything if split away from each other and our goal.”

“I could do it alone.”

“Mmm.” The little hum brought a perverse joy to Haruka’s heart-- it was Michiru’s hum, one she’d heard on more than one occasion when she was being as stupid as Uranus was.  _ Michiru! I’m still here! _

She managed to extend her hand before Uranus fought her down. “I could attend the school and  _ you _ could fight the Moon soldiers.”

“Oh? I didn’t know you had a psychic sense.”

“I don’t need to be psychic to sense that kind of power.” Uranus cracked her knuckles. “I’ll find her.”

“I’m tempted to let you try.” Neptune was close, Haruka was sure. The tiniest bit of Michiru’s perfume still clung to her skin. “But you’ll need to prove to me you can do one task before I can give you another.”

“You can’t give me orders.”

“Call them whatever you like. And Haruka, be sure to tell the others everything you’ve hea-- Damn you!”

Uranus laughed as Neptune struggled for control and Haruka struggled to respond.  _ Michiru! MICHIRU!  _

“I suppose we can’t allow you near the Moon soldiers, if you’re so ready to let your parasite speak out of turn.” Uranus crossed her arms. “We can do this your way, for now. That’s my favor to you.”

“Think of it however you wish,” Neptune said, teeth gritted. “Just don’t fail again.”

“Don’t you either.”

_ You didn’t tell her I broke through, too. _

_ Shut up,  _ Uranus spat back within her head as she took to bed.  _ You’ll never manage again. You’re weak. _

Maybe she was. But Haruka would use everything she had to fulfill the mission Michiru had given her. Perhaps that was one thing they had going for them over Uranus and Neptune-- they knew how to work together.


	3. The Grail and the Girl

The next morning, Usagi padded out to the living room to find Chibiusa eating breakfast in front of the TV.

“What’s got you up so early?” She twiddled her feet between bites. “At this rate, you might be on time.”

“Yeah,” Usagi said instead of taking the bait. “Say… Chibiusa… Do you think your Mama’s different from me?”

“Of  _ course _ she is.” Chibiusa put her hands on her tiny hips. “My mama is beautiful, and elegant, and regal and you’re just--”

“But do you think she’s a different person than me?”

Chibisua frowned and sat up straighter. “Because of Uranus and Neptune?”

“Yeah.”

She motioned for Usagi to sit next to her on the couch, and she did so. “I’ve thought about it before, because you’re so different. And you’re different to me, especially. But it could just be experience, you know? I’m different from the Chibiusa you first met, and you’re different than the Usagi I first met. We’re always changing, and in the years before you have me, you’re bound to change a lot.”

“Don’t tell anyone I said this, but you’re a smart kid.”

“I will tell  _ everyone _ you said that,” she said, smiling. Usagi wrapped her in the tightest hug she could, and made a mental note to  _ try _ and be nicer the next time she was annoying.

“Oh,” Chibiusa said as she pulled away. “Mama told me to make sure you know the talismans can make the holy grail appear. She said she felt some disturbance come through the past on it.”

“What?”

“The holy grail. That’s part of why she sent me back.”

“Chibiusa! You’ve been here for weeks and didn’t say anything!”

She shrugged. “I was so excited to be back I forgot.”

“You little brat! You made it for that stupid art project and didn’t say a word!” Usagi launched herself at her, already forgetting her earlier resolution, and Chibiusa vaulted off the couch.

_____

“The Holy Grail, huh?” Makoto leaned back in her desk chair. “I guess that makes as much sense as the talismans only existing to destroy the world.”

“And it might explain why the Death Busters were after them.”

Mako eyed Ami. “You don’t think they just want to destroy the world too?”

She pursed her lips. “It’s possible.” But Mako could tell she thought it wasn’t. “If Neo Queen Serenity has the Grail in the future, are you supposed to get it now?”

“I think so.” Usagi pulled the ends of her ponytails. “But we can’t risk getting the talismans together while Uranus and Neptune are here.” She sat against Mako’s desk. “If I could just heal them…”

Mako frowned, thinking of Mina and Venus. “Maybe there are other ways we can make this work. Maybe we could talk it over, like you always say.”

“Hmm.” Usagi kept playing with her hair. “I don’t think they can listen. They stole Haruka and Michiru away.”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that, don’t you think?”

“I confirmed Pluto’s story on the Mercury computer’s database,” Ami said. “It seems to be factually sound. If they’re bent on vengeance for the original Serenity’s actions, I don’t know what course we can take to appease them.”

Makoto sighed. Ami wasn’t wrong, but she wanted to have hope. “Well, maybe they’ll send up seeing the good in this life and soften up a bit.” She stopped short of saying that Jupiter found more joy on earth than she ever had in the Silver Millenium. 

“Maybe we could steal the talismans.” Ami stared into the distance, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “It would lessen their threat, and allow us to acquire the Grail.”

“Maybe.”

“We could try,” Makoto said. “You can try healing them, too, but it’s worth a shot.” She smiled. “And it would be pretty satisfying to grab that sword right out of Uranus’s hand.”

“You’ll have to fight Mina for it, I’m sure,” Ami said with a sly smile of her own. For a moment, the world felt manageable and light. As Haruna came in and everyone filed into their own seats, Mako chose to continue believing they could find something that worked.

____

There were a great many things, it turned out, that Neptune had not prepared for when she’d set out to begin her search of the school. The first, perhaps she should have looked into Michiru’s mind to anticipate-- she could not merely wander the halls without raising suspicion. Her excuses were plentiful, and the administrators readily accepted them, but she could not keep them up indefinitely.

Secondly, the Messiah of Silence was far from the only supernatural being in Mugen Academy. It seemed every third student Neptune encountered had some aura of power about them, obscuring the energy she sought to track.

And, perhaps most egregiously, when she transformed out of her soldier’s uniform to dawn that of the school, her parasite became much harder to keep bound. Every step was a battle over direction, every word she spoke took all her strength to keep it her own. Her head buzzed with Michiru’s insistences that they go to class, that they leave, that Michiru be allowed to pilot the body, that Neptune return to sleep.

_ You’re in my body, in my school, in my clothes. Perhaps that is a hint as to what ought to happen here. _

_ And yet you have my powers, my talisman, and you’re under my control. _

_ That matter is debatable. _

Neptune’s body turned itself around, taking three steps towards the class Michiru was supposed to be in before she wrestled it back.  _ We are going to go this way, we are going to find the Messiah, and we are going to end all life on this miserable planet, and you don’t have any say in it. _

_ Mm, and yet it has gone from I to we, interesting. _

Neptune did her best to ignore her. If she could just find the Messiah, she could return to the apartment and regroup. How hard could it be to find one little girl?

She passed yet another student, this one with green hair done up in two buns, that sent her senses reeling with the presence of power, but not the right power. 

_ She’s among the Death Busters. That’s why we enrolled here. _

_ I  _ know  _ that,  _ Neptune spat internally, although it was a lie. The Death Busters did not concern her as anything beyond a distraction for the Moon Soldiers and an aid to their destruction. She had not looked into Michiru’s memories for anything past the most basic idea of them.

_ You think if this Messiah you seek were easily found, I wouldn’t have felt her? _

_ You don’t know what to look for.  _

_ It seems you barely have any idea yourself. _

Among the many curses of having another being in your head was the simple fact that it was difficult to keep things from her.

The Aqua Mirror appeared in Neptune’s hand unbidden. “Show me the way to that which I seek,” Michiru said though Neptune’s lips. The mirror glowed and pulled them forward.

_ I know more of our powers than even you. The sea answers only to my call. _

_ A lucky guess, only.  _ The sea and all it offered belonged to Neptune. If Michiru had any advantage, it was merely because she had been born on this planet and its oceans knew her, and surely then as Neptune became familiar to them they could be brought to heel.  _ Why, though, do you help me now? _

_ Why indeed? _

Neptune was furious to find the reasoning was hidden from her. But however suspicious she was of Michiru’s motives, she could not turn back. She needed to know the Messiah if she had any hope of completing the plan and, more pressingly, keeping Uranus under her thumb. The mirror led them through the labyrinth of halls, more twists and turns than should have been strictly possible, coming to a stop at a classroom just moments before the period ended. Young students filed out, and when the Messiah followed last among them, there was no mistaking her.

Power rolled off of her in waves, despite her frail and shaky frame. Neptune fought the urge to kneel. This sickly girl held the key to their revenge, if only the being inside her would awaken.

_ There’s something wrong about her, _ the parasite said, and Neptune sensed it soon after. There was another presence, beyond girl and soldier. A third, sinister being slept inside her. Another way, perhaps, to destruction. 

And yet. It was another factor she hadn’t foreseen. The seas of Neptune had once shown her the way so clearly, and now, it seemed, even the simplest paths were riddled with fog.

_ You didn’t have much to see, alone on a planet. I don’t suppose there was much to complicate your future. Here it is ever-changing, a million influences pulling it in different directions. _

_ You know nothing of it,  _ Neptune shot back.  _ All that matters is that I have found her. _ But the uneasiness would not leave. She watched the pale little girl scurry down the hall to her next class and wondered who, in the end, would awaken her.


End file.
